On July 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on antitrust regulation of markets and aggregators. It introduces a series of restrictions on the operation of the sites.
The representatives of the e-commerce market interviewed by RB.RU believe that the new law will mainly affect the big players and make the market more transparent if it is finalized. It will continue to be difficult for small players to compete with universal markets.
What will change from September 1:
Markets with an annual income of more than 2 billion rubles will be prohibited from avoiding or removing sellers from the site, with a share of transactions passing through the site above 35% of the total market:
- fix the minimum and maximum price of the goods;
- set different prices for the same product;
- fix the minimum and maximum cost of its services;
- impose unfavorable terms of the contract or not enter into the contract for unreasonable reasons.
Co-founder and CEO of the local brands marketplace Flowwow Vyacheslav Bogdan believes that the new law will mainly affect major market players such as Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex.Market. According to Bogdan, “some of these markets will benefit from regulation.”
“As for small sites, it is unlikely that anything will change significantly: it will continue to be difficult to compete with universal markets in those verticals in which they are especially strong. In my opinion, there will be no sudden exit or entry of sellers, ”believes the businessman.
CEO of children’s clothing brand “Jackets” Alexander Blokhin (the company is listed on Ozon and Wildberries) points to the presence in the law of “simplified” wording that is formally easy to circumvent.
“In marketplaces and aggregators, the price is usually not set by the site itself, but by the seller, be it a provider, a taxi company or a restaurant. Nor is it defined what the unfavorable terms of the contract are. However, it is also not clear how it is possible to restrict the freedom to enter into a contract, which in most cases is an offer, as well as to establish the impossibility of setting prices for the market for its services, ”says the expert.
According to Blokhin, in Russia there is already a regulation of the trading industry: “What I would like to add for 2023 is the proportionality of the sanctions for market providers.”
Blokhin, like Flowwow CEO Vyacheslav Bogdan, agrees that the law will not affect the number of providers on the market, large or small. “Everyone looked at the economy and the risks the same way they will. He believes that until a clear law enforcement practice is developed. “But if the law is finalized, it will lead to a transparent environment.”
General Manager of the Bank “Blank” Elena Kuligina he believes that with the new law, sellers will also be forced to change the rules of the game.
“First, sellers will need to clearly calculate their unit economy. Second, the strategy, when the seller sells at a low price for a short time to get orders and reviews and move up in the search results, will also not work, and sellers will have to invent new methods of promotion within the marketplace. . Third, the market will expel sellers who recklessly enter the markets,” the expert points out.
Thus, according to her, it will be difficult for new sellers with seasonal products to access the markets.
Ozon, Wildberries, Lamoda, Yandex.Market did not comment on the changes.
Author:
anastasia mariana
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
